Is the Michelin Guide Relevant in Asia?

The Michelin Guides are firmly planted in Asia — but how relevant are they to the region?

For more than a century, the Michelin Guides have been the mark of excellence for restaurants in Europe, where earning a star – or losing one – can make or break a chef’s career. But how relevant is France’s little red book in Asia, where it arrived five years ago and now counts a trio of titles?

Living in Tokyo in the mid-2000s, one of my favorite places to have lunch was Esaki, a charming restaurant in the city’s Aoyama district. It was small and reasonably priced, around 5,000 yen ($55) for a lunch set, but the food was spectacular. The house specialty of yurine dango – a delicate ball of lotus root and crispy senbei in a rich broth – is one of my all-time favorite dishes. In Tokyo’s first Michelin guide, in 2008, the restaurant was awarded two stars; it later gained a third.

I never ate there again.

When Michelin landed in Japan, the traditionally Eurocentric Michelin system came under fire from all sides. Restaurateurs, critics and the general public debated whether some restaurants deserved their Michelin stars while other establishments were overlooked.

Magnolia Pictures

Jiro Ono, chef-owner of Michelin three-star restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro, was the subject of a documentary ‘Jiro Dreams of Sushi’

According to Michelin, local Japanese inspectors worked alongside their European counterparts in compiling the guide. But many Japanese believed that foreign inspectors lacked the experience required for an informed assessment of Japanese food. (Of the five inspectors for the inaugural Tokyo guide, two were Japanese and three European.)

Across the pond, Western chefs and commentators raised objections to the Japan guides, claiming they were too lenient. Tokyo earned more stars than any other city in the world, while the comparatively tiny town of Kobe, population 1.5 million, boasted a dozen two- and three-star locations – more than all of London.

In the early days, a few Japanese chefs whose restaurants gained stars claimed ignorance of the system and the importance attributed to it abroad. Some even denied Michelin access to photograph their restaurants, effectively forgoing their place in the guide. Most, however, accepted the acknowledgement graciously, while perhaps not expecting it.

Michelin’s Tokyo Yokohama Shonan guide, now in its fifth edition, is overseen by a seven-person, all-Japanese team of inspectors. Much of the criticism that accompanied earlier editions has quieted, but although the Michelin guide in Europe may be considered the highest culinary accolade – and a sign of international acclaim in the U.S. – the guide in Asia is still treated as indicator of primarily foreign recognition.

Of course, locals in Asia have never needed a foreign restaurant guide to tell them where to find good food. From word-of-mouth to newspapers and magazines to crowd-sourced websites like Tabelog in Japan and Openrice in Hong Kong, diners have been tracking down delicious eats since long before Michelin came to town, and they will continue to rely on home-grown resources regardless of what restaurants makes the French guide’s cut.

Nonetheless, Michelin has its audience. The lines at Hong Kong hole-in-the-wall Tim Ho Wan, touted as the world’s least expensive Michelin-starred restaurant, have always been intimidating in its original Mongkok location. But recently, many of the people queueing up are tourists, both from the West and around Asia (those in the know order their dim sum by phone in advance to go). Meanwhile, it’s notoriously difficult to get a booking at the three-starred, 10-seat Sukiyabashi Jiro in Tokyo’s Ginza district. Most Michelin-driven overseas diners are “encouraged” by the restaurant to try its more foreigner-friendly Roppongi location instead (albeit with only two stars).

The reason I have not yet returned to Esaki in the years since it gained its Michelin stars has nothing to do with snobbery, quality or cost. I’m told the food remains exceptional, and the prices comparable to what they were when I was a regular. But in post-Michelin Tokyo, the process of getting a table there has become insurmountable for me. And that perhaps is testament to the power of the little red book.

No guide, award or restaurant review is perfect. Nor will it be immune to criticism. While Michelin in Asia may not inspire the reverence it does in Europe, or be treated as an unquestionable imprimatur of quality, it is at its essence a commentary, and as such, it’s a source of discussion rather than an end to it.

The simple truth is, if the Michelin guide weren’t relevant in Asia, nobody would be even talking about it. But here we are.

Adam is a cook, author, television presenter and winner of MasterChef Australia 2010. He has lived, worked and eaten around the world, including Australia, Malaysia, China, India and most recently, spent seven years in Tokyo, Japan. He is perpetually hungry.

Comments (5 of 6)

The Michelin Guide helps non-Japanese readers to access restaurants in Japan. There are very few restaurant guides written in English for Tokyo and Kyoto. Especially as encompassing as the Michelin Guide.

And, it is interesting to note that the 2013 English version for Tokyo is not available in print. It is available, for free, online.

8:59 pm January 30, 2013

I prefer Hamburgers wrote:

55USD is not all that reasonable for a lunch, but the benefit of a Michelin star is you can mark up prices because people believe they're eating the best.

3:05 pm January 28, 2013

michelin smichilen wrote:

its a useless guide more suitable for westerners than locals....

12:47 pm January 28, 2013

Brad wrote:

Where's the argument? The author insinuates that the Japanese inspectors go easy on Japanese chefs and therefore skew the rating system, but that's pure hearsay. I think the author is just frustated about the rise of Asian restaurants in general and the commercial success of his favorite restaurant in Tokyo.

12:15 pm January 28, 2013

joe wrote:

It's wonderful for picking a restaurant to take the parents to, sort of a "westerners will love" guide, plus in Hong Kong they can be quite accessible, and not too hard on the pocket.